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Polychromatic staining of plant cell walls by toluidine blue O

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Summary

  1. 1.

    The polychromatic staining of plant cell walls by toluidine blue O is described and illustrated.

  2. 2.

    The effects of various common fixatives and the effects of the pH of the staining solution are evaluated.

  3. 3.

    Simple and rapid procedures are described for preparing stained temporary mounts of fresh material, or permanent mounts of embedded and sectioned material.

  4. 4.

    The relationship between the polychromatic staining observed and the lignification of the walls is discussed.

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Author notes

  1. T. P. O'Brien, N. Feder & M. E. McCully

    Present address: The Biological Laboratories, Harvard, Cambridge, Mass., USA

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    1. T. P. O'Brien
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    2. N. Feder
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    3. M. E. McCully
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    O'Brien, T.P., Feder, N. & McCully, M.E. Polychromatic staining of plant cell walls by toluidine blue O. Protoplasma 59, 368–373 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01248568

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01248568

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